Magic Can't Help
by SSBlondie99
Summary: Lily Evans has always loathed James Potter. But now they're in their seventh year and times are changing, and Lily realizes that Potter may not be the arrogant prat she thought he was. LJ, Mauraders included. My first fanfic so R&R and go easy on me PLEAS
1. On The Train

Magic Can't Help

Chapter 1

On the train

Lily Evans leaned casually against the solid brick barrier between platforms nine and ten. This would be the last year she would do this, seeing as how it was her seventh year at Hogwarts. She couldn't wait to see her friends, Hannah, Olivia, and Taylor. There was only one thing she was regretting this year, and the moment she slipped through the barrier, it was standing before her. James Potter. She loathed him with every liter of blood in her body.

"Well, hello Evans," came the smooth-talking voice of James Potter. She felt herself go cold and shut her eyes, praying for patience.

"Potter," she said, giving him a nod and quickly ducking away from him. She scanned the crowd for any sign of her friends, and then she heard: "Lily, over here, Lily!" she spun around, her auburn hair twirling as she did so. There, on the other side of the platform, was Olivia and Taylor.

"Hey! Oh my gosh I haven't seen you guys in forever! Hey, where's Hannah?"

"Take a look," said Olivia, pointing to a small crowd over near the train. She could just see Hannah's dark blonde hair, and the shaggy, long, black hair of Sirius Black. They seemed deep in conversation, with Black leaning casually against the train, and Hannah laughing at practically every word.

"Hey, at least he's talking to her," said Taylor. Everyone in their year knew that Hannah had a huge crush on Sirius. Then, immediately after that, Taylor yelped and leapt behind Olivia. Olivia being much taller, she made a good shield. Lily knew what she was hiding from. Remus Lupin was standing talking to James near the train. Taylor had such a huge thing for Remus that she was afraid of him.

Olivia rolled her eyes and shoved Taylor out from behind her. "Let's grab Hannah and find a compartment." And the three of them started toward Hannah and Sirius, with Taylor trying as hard as possible not to be seen.

"Hey Black, we're gonna steal Hannah from you and find a compartment, so why don't you just go and join Remus and Potter," said Lily, grabbing Hannah by the upper arm.

"You don't have to treat me like a baby Evans, oh, but wait, I'd better watch myself seeing as you're head girl,"

"Thanks, bye," and with that Lily pulled Hannah away from Sirius and onto the train.

The four of them found a compartment near the back of the train and hurried into it before someone else could take it.

"Oh thanks, I finally get to talk to Sirius Black and you go and annoy him!" whined Hannah, sinking into a seat.

"Don't worry about it, Black had secretly liked you as long as Lily has secretly like Potter," said Olivia, throwing the subject aside

"Excuse me? I do NOT LIKE POTTER!" fumed Lily, annoyed that her friends always point this out

"She so does," said Taylor to Olivia.

"Totally in love,"

"No doubt about it,"

"I wonder who the head boy is, ooh, I hope it's Amos Diggory," said Lily, desperately trying to change the subject. No sooner had she said that, James Potter poked his head into the compartment.

"Did I hear my name?"

"NO, GET OUT!" shouted Lily, slamming the door on James.

James walked slowly back to his compartment. He had heard Lily ask about the new head boy. She probably expected Remus, or Amos Diggory. Anyone but him. Even he wasn't sure that Dumbledore had really picked him to do the job. He even wrote to him asking if it was a mistake.

He slid the compartment door open and sank into a chair and sighed.

"Oh, you did NOT just go into her compartment," Remus scolded when he saw the look on his friend's face.

"Er, ya, I kind of did,"

"He's a madman," said Sirius, coming briefly out of his daydream. He had been thinking about how he had finally spoken to Hannah.

"She's never going to go out with you if you keep bugging her," Remus continued.

"I know, it's just, I can't help it, I want her to go out with me so bad. Well, she's head girl now, so, at least we get to patrol the halls together." He said, reaching into his bag and pulling out a shiny badge that read Head Boy.

"Well, I'm going to go and see if Taylor's in the prefect's compartment yet, so I'll meet you there," said Remus. He wouldn't admit it, but he gets as nervous around Taylor as she does around him.

"Meet you there mate," said James, clearly distracted. He had just seen Lily, Olivia, and Hannah walk by on the way to their compartment. As Remus left, James noticed him walking slightly taller then usual, and he had his chest puffed out, showing his prefect badge. James heard Sirius whisper to Peter (A/N: DIE PETTIGREW, DIE!) "He's hoping he'll run into Taylor."

Suddenly James' expression went blank. Lily and Taylor were walking past again, evidently heading up to the prefect's compartment. "Uh, got to go," said James, standing up and hiding his head boy badge in his hand. And he slid the door open and quickly moved out of sight.

By the time he caught up, Lily was reaching for the handle of the compartment door. "Oy, Evans!" he shouted. Lily turned and looked, and a look of annoyance spread across her face. She whispered something to Taylor, and she went inside, leaving Lily in the corridor with James.

"What do you want Potter?" she said tiredly.

"Hey, I was just wondering if you wanted me to walk you in," he said innocently. There were so many things he wanted from Lily that they were crammed into every corner of his mind.

"First of all Potter, I wouldn't want you to do anything with me or for me, and second, you're not allowed in, you're not a prefect, and you're definitely not head boy," she snapped, her face looking more frustrated then ever.

"Ouch, that hurt, but you were wrong on one statement. You may not want me in there, but unfortunately for you, I have to be," and with this, he lifted his hand to show his shiny head boy badge.

Lily felt her jaw drop. Potter, head boy? No way. This had to be a nightmare. But if Dumbledore made the decision, there was nothing she could do about it.

"Let's just get this over with," Lily said, still in shock. She opened the door and sat down, and with no acknowledgement to James, began reading the prefect requirements off of her parchment.

After what felt like hours, she read off the last requirement, and everybody filed out of the compartment. Lily was the last to leave, and she entered the corridor, she saw James shut his compartment door. She was alone in the corridor. Suddenly, the train came to an abrupt stop, knocking Lily off her feet. She rubbed her head and started to get back up, when the lights flickered off. Her insides went cold. Her mind was filled with horrible memories. People screaming, houses burning, she felt empty, except for the horrible thoughts swirling around in her mind.

She turned and saw two hooded figures moving quickly toward her. Frightened, she tried to move, but she was weak. She recognized them as dementors, but there was nothing she could do. She fell completely to the ground, and she saw one of the dementors close in on her. Her vision was blurred, but suddenly she heard a voice.

"_Expecto Patronum!"_ and a silver figure was running, no, galloping towards her. The dementors were flung backwards and she recognized the figure as a stag. She turned and tried to look at her savior, but all she saw was someone lower their wand, and then everything went black.

Hope you liked it! My first fanfic so R&R please! And I hope I didn't accidentally copy anyone! If I did, please don't sue me!


	2. Savior

Chapter 2

Savior

Lily's eyes flickered open. She felt tired and weak. Her vision was blurred, but she could make out two figures near the door. One she recognized as madam Pomfrey, the other she did not recognize at first. Her brilliant green eyes could only make out dark, untidy hair, and glasses. But then she knew.

_Oh no, not Potter, anyone but Potter, please not Potter._

"Hey, she's awake!" Lily turned her head and saw Hannah, Taylor, Olivia, and another of her friends, Kelsey.

"She's awake, she's awake, she's awake!" Kelsey said cheerfully. Kelsey came to school by Floo powder because her parents were paranoid about You-Know-Who.

"Hey guys," Lily said wearily. They all smiled and whispered: "Hey, don't talk too loud or madam Pomfrey will have our heads."

"Girl, you are so lucky that Potter was on the train," whispered Olivia, glancing at James, who was still talking to madam Pomfrey.

"Uh, why?" asked Lily, wondering why her friends were actually saying things like that.

"Potter conjured the Patronus that saved you," said Taylor, "We saw him pick you up and put you in the prefect's compartment, and he did this thing where it made you warm, and then he left, sent a letter to the school, and stayed with you the rest of the ride."

"Eww, Potter touched me?" said Lily, half disgusted, half impressed that Potter could do such advanced magic of conjuring a full corporeal patronus. She took another glance to where she saw James, but he was already gone.

Lily was released the next day, and she went up to Dumbledore's office with James for their instructions.

"Now, the two of you will be sharing the Head's common room. The entrance is behind the painting of the eagle on the sixth floor. You will patrol the corridors from seven pm to ten pm. You are allowed to give detentions, but please do not get carried away," said Dumbledore, seeing the look of joy on James' face. Lily knew who he would use this privilege on. Severus Snape, and Lucius Malfoy were Potter's worst enemies, and he would probably give them detention until they were hanging by their toes in Filch's office, even though Lily herself wouldn't mind giving Bellatrix Lestrange a taste.

As they were going up to the sixth floor, neither tried to make conversation. James felt awkward for saving Lily, and Lily felt awkward having being saved by James Potter. No one spoke until they reached the eagle. From its branch, it said: "Please choose a password."

"Um, whatever you want," said James, staring at his feet. Lily heaved a sigh. This was the one time in the entire year that she was going to be remotely nice to James Potter.

"How about Silver Stag?" that was the hardest thing in the world to do.

James had never felt so embarrassed in his life. Lily Evans was actually being nice to him. "You saw that?"

"Uh, ya," said Lily, clearly embarrassed by her own kindness.

"Okay, so Silver Stag?" the eagle nodded its bold head and the portrait opened. As they entered the common room, James felt his mouth fall open. The room was covered in red and gold, and it already had carpets, and furniture. To his left he saw a door. He opened it, and found a huge four poster bed with a JP carved into the wood. He could tell Lily had found hers because he heard her gasp.

He walked back into the common room and sat down in a squashy old armchair by the fire and closed his eyes. He felt at home.

"You couldn't possibly help could you?" asked Lily, who was trying to lift her trunk into the top part of her closet.

"You couldn't possibly ask nicely?" said James sarcastically, keeping his eyes shut.

James heard a loud thump and could tell that Lily had dropped her trunk to the floor. "You always have to be an arrogant prat don't you?" James turned around and looked at her. She had her hands oh her hips and her auburn hair was in her eyes.

"You know, most people would have said thank you,"

"Just because you helped me, doesn't mean I have to like you," her voice was rising.

"First of all, I didn't say you had to like me, and second, I didn't help you, I saved you," said James, his temper flaring up.

"YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO!"

"YOU WOULD'VE DIED IF I DIDN'T!"

"WHY DO YOU EVEN CARE? YOU ONLY CARE ABOUT YOURSELF JAMES POTTER!" and with that, Lily marched out of the room and out the portrait hole, leaving James hurt and alone.

James didn't feel like relaxing any more. He walked out the portrait hole and followed the familiar path down to Gryffindor Tower. "Fanged Frisbee," he said; being head boy, he knew the password.

"Hey, if it isn't our famous Head Boy," said Sirius from his couch. James saw that Hannah was sitting surprisingly close to him. Remus was by the fire, reading, with Taylor stealing nervous glances over at him. Peter was alone in the other armchair, trying to make his quill do a cartwheel, and Olivia and Kelsey were sitting on the other couch reviewing Transfiguration. James also noticed Olivia stealing jealous looks over at Hannah and Sirius.

As soon as Sirius spoke, Kelsey's head jolted up so fast, her face was blurred. Kelsey had always tried to help him out with Lily, but her plans never really worked.

"Hey Potter, what's wrong?" she asked when she saw his face. James started to explain, but he thought that Lily might be there, so he didn't.

"Uh, is Evans here?" he asked cautiously.

"Nah, she went to the library about five minutes ago. Why?" said Taylor, finally taking her eyes off Remus.

"Um, no reason, but could you guys excuse us for a bit?" he said, indicating the four girls. Surprisingly, they didn't complain, but just got up and left. Lily had probably told them already.

So James started telling the story. "And then she just ran out!" he said about ten minutes later. "I mean, I saved her! She should bow down and call me savior!"

"Um, I wouldn't go that far James," said Remus.

"Fine, but she could've at least said thank you,"

"Very true," said Sirius.

How did you like the second chapter? Pretty intense huh? The next chapter has some other couple relationships in it as well, so R&R please!


	3. Wrath of the Slytherins

Chapter 3

Wrath of the Slytherins

Lily sat down in the library and sighed. She pulled out her charms book and started to catch up on their first class, when: "Well, look, if it isn't the mudblood," Bellatrix Lestrange was standing right behind her.

"What are you doing in the library Lestrange, seeing your grades, I thought you didn't go," Lily retorted, determined not to turn around and curse Bellatrix to hell.

"At least I don't live here," she taunted in her shrill voice

Lily turned around. "Maybe I do live here, but it's probably better than living in Slytherin." She said, grabbing her books. Bellatrix narrowed her eyes. "I'll get you for that mudblood," she said, and spun on her heel and walked away.

Lily walked out of the library, thinking about what Bellatrix had said. She wasn't scared of Bellatrix Lestrange. But she was afraid of Lucius Malfoy, and he was one of Bellatrix's best friends.

Lily went back to the head's common room, and looked for James, but he wasn't there. She still felt bad about yelling at James, and it was starting to get to her. She sank into an armchair by the fire and shut her eyes. She wanted this feeling to go away. She hates Potter, so why does she feel so guilty? She pulled out her wand and conjured up a thick pillow, buried her face in it, and screamed as loud as she could.

"Um, should I come back later?" It was Potter. He had seen her. She slowly let the pillow fall away from her face.

"You always have to come at exactly the wrong time don't you Potter,"

"Hey, I'm just wondering what's wrong,"

"Nothing James, I'm fine," She clapped her hands over her mouth. She called him James. Why did she call him James?

_Because you like him. _Said a tiny voice in her head.

_I do not!_

_Yes you do! _The argument in her head went on and on before she finally won. She did NOT like James Potter.

"Er, I just wanted to say that we have to go patrol the halls," he said. He wondered why she just called him James. I mean, He was fine with it but, she never calls him James. He just couldn't figure out why.

The next morning, when he got out of bed, he found that Lily had already gone to breakfast. He sighed and got dressed, and trudged down to the Main Hall. When he got to breakfast he found his friends and Lily sitting at the Gryffindor table. He sat down in between Sirius and Lily.

"Good morning Evans, hey Padfoot," said James. Lily just ignored him.

"Hey Prongs, want some eggs before I eat them all?"

"Uh, no thanks Padfoot," he said, watching Sirius shovel food into his mouth. Remus was behind a book, and Peter was eating silently.

"Well, I'm off," said Remus, finally closing his book.

"I'll go with him," said Taylor, hurrying after him, her jet black hair trailing behind her. "Hey Remus, wait up!"

"Oh, hi Taylor," said Remus, feeling the butterflies rise into his stomach.

"Um, what class do you have first?" asked Taylor, desperately trying to make conversation.

"Er, potions,"

"Oh, well, I've got transfiguration, so I've got to go this way," said Taylor, pointing up the staircase. "Uh, see ya." She said feeling depressed.

"Uh, Taylor wait up!" he called rushing up the stairs after her. She stopped and turned around. Remus took a deep breath and said: "Um, do you want to go to Hogsmeade with me next weekend?"

Taylor's face lit up. "Yeah, sure!" she said. "Well, I've got to go to class, see you later!" and she turned and continued up the stairs.

(back at breakfast)

James kept taking brief looks at Lily, who continued to ignore him.

"Well, I'm going," she said, and without a word to James, hoisted her bag onto her shoulder and walked out of the main hall.

"Yeah, we're gonna go too," said Sirius, and he and Hannah left, with Olivia following not too far behind, leaving James and Kelsey alone.

"You've got transfiguration right?" Sirius asked Hannah.

"Yeah, oh that sucks, I'm not going to see you until lunch," she said in a fake pouting voice.

"It's okay, I'll see you later,"

"I guess," it seemed awkward. It was like a cauldron cake without any frosting. The end of the conversation was out in the open. As though he knew that she was thinking this, he bent over a little and pressed his lips to hers.

"See you at lunch," he said, feeling something glow inside him. Hannah couldn't stop smiling, and she bowed her head and ran off to transfiguration. Little did she know, Olivia had seen the entire thing. And she was going to get Sirius if it was the last thing she ever did. But she couldn't help feeling guilty. I mean, shouldn't she be happy for her friend? But she was torn. Hannah was one of her best friends, but she also likes Sirius, and she didn't know what to do.

James started walking to Potions when he looked outside. He saw Lily under a tree, reading a book by the lake. Instead of turning the corner to the dungeons, he continued walking over to the tree. But he saw the look on her face when she looked up, and turned and walked to another tree.

_Damn Potter. Why does he always have to follow me?_ Lily thought as she turned the page of the book that she wasn't actually reading. She laid her eyes back on the page, when suddenly three shadows came over it. Lily tipped her head up and recognized the emblem of Slytherin on their robes. She looked up even more and saw Bellatrix Lestrange, Severus Snape, and Lucius Malfoy. Lily plunged her hand into her robes, but the moment her want was out, Snape yelled _Expelliarmus _and her wand flew out of her hand.

"Well hello Mudblood," said Malfoy, a sly look on his face. Lily jumped up, but as soon as she did, Malfoy and Snape grabbed her and threw her to the ground. She rolled over, and looked at James by the other tree, silently begging him to come to her rescue. But he wasn't looking.

_Why am I thinking this? I'm being beaten up by a pack of Slytherins and I'm depending on James Potter for a rescue? Come on Evans, you can do better then that._

James forced himself not to look over at Lily. He kept his eyes on his book, and tried to block out all sound.

_Maybe if she thinks I'm studying she'll like me. I mean, she's the smartest in our year, studying may get her attention._

Trying to erase these thoughts from his mind, James remembered that he actually did have class. He glanced at his watch.

_Bloody hell, I have to get to potions!_

He shut his book, and tucked it into his bag. He looked to see if Lily was still there, even though he expected her to be in class. She wasn't by the tree. She was on the ground, at the mercy of Malfoy, Snape, and Lestrange. And she was looking right at him. He saw the look in her eyes and knew. He dropped his bag as Lily started to get up, but Bellatrix shouted: "_Impedimenta!" _And Lily was knocked to the floor again.

James plunged his hand into his robes and in a split second Bellatrix Lestrange was hanging upside down. Everyone was watching him now. But when James looked back at Lily, she being thrown into the lake by Malfoy, (by magic, of course). James pointed his wand at Malfoy and cried: "_Stupefy!"_ and Malfoy was unconscious. Now was just _Snivellus. "Impedimenta!"_ he cried as Snape began his own spell, and Snape was hurled backwards into the tree. He checked them all. Bellatrix was still hanging hopelessly in the air; Malfoy and Snape were both knocked out.

He turned to Lily, who was beginning to crawl out of the lake whenall of a sudden she went back under. As she went down, a giant tentacle rose back up.

_The Squid!_

Before he knew what he was doing, James dove into the lake after her. It was freezing cold and he was running out of air. Then he had and idea. He pulled out his wand and pointed it at his head. Immediately it looked as though he was wearing an upside down fish bowl, but it did the trick. He swam deeper until he caught a glimpse of amber hair. He reached down and found Lily's wrist. He pulled and began to swim to the surface. He pulled Lily up and onto the ground, but before he could get out himself, he felt a slimy tentacle slide around his ankle, and soon, he was in the lake again, with only one thing on his mind. And it stunned him what it was. Was Lily okay?

Lily opened her eyes. She was sopping wet, coughing, and for some reason, everyone was staring at the lake, apparently anxious about something. Then she remembered. The Slytherins threw her into the lake, and she went under. She remembered someone grabbing her wrist, but she must have passed out before she got to the surface. And judging by the unconscious Slytherins and nervous bystanders, James was in the water.

Lily felt something she hadn't felt before now. She was worried, and about Potter. She sat up and stared at the water. She didn't know how to feel, relieved, worried, or angry. For some reason she didn't know, she chose worried. Suddenly, she changed to relief, but not because she was out of the lake. She could see someone in the lake, and with a closer look, she could see that it was James swimming back up. Realizing what her expression must look like, she tried to change it to tired and coughing again, so that Potter wouldn't get the wrong idea.

When James emerged in his bubble head, he was…smiling?

"Well hello Evans. Do you like my workmanship on your friends?" he said, pointing to the unconscious Slytherins. Lily rolled her eyes.

"Yes, very nice Potter, I especially like the fact that Bellatrix Lestrange will now go spreading rumors that you saved me again,"

"Hey, I did didn't I? Oh, and now that I've saved you again, how about going to Hogsmeade with me?"

"Don't push it Potter," and with that she reached her hand down, and pulled James up onto solid ground.

Sorry it was so long! I just couldn't stop writing, I got so caught up! Again, I say I hope I didn't accidentally copy anyone! Update coming soon! I say again R&R PLEASE!


	4. The Owl, the Crush, and the Slytherins

Hey! This is a REALLY GOOD chapter, so R&R please! Plus, if you happened to be C.S. Lewis, don't sue me for the title!

Chapter 4

The Owl, the Crush, and the Slytherins

"I'll bet that if you would STOP asking her out, she may actually speak to you voluntarily," said Kelsey over dinner. Lily was in the common room catching up on homework.

"Hmm, that would be the, hmm, tenth time you've said that tonight?" said James, picking at his shepherd's pie.

"Hey, she's got a point mate," said Sirius, pushing his plate out of the way.

"I'm sorry, but whose side are you on?" said James sarcastically. "And might I add, this is the second time I've saved her without a single thank you."

"Lily doesn't like being rescued by stalkers," said Olivia, purposely leaning over Sirius to look at James. Sirius edged backwards a little bit.

"I am not a stalker!" Olivia caught Kelsey's eye and they both turned and looked at James.

"You wouldn't be a stalker if you would stop asking her out," said Kelsey.

"And following her to classes," said Olivia, pointing her fork at James.

"And telling her that you would prank Snivellus for her," said Sirius.

"I stopped saying that in our third year!"

"Yeah, but you still prank Snivellus in front of her," James just rolled his eyes, realizing that this was very true.

"I'm going to start my homework," said James, and picked up his bag and marched out of the Main Hall realizing that if he didn't change, he would never get Lily.

He got to the portrait of the eagle, but before he could say the password, the portrait hole opened, and Remus walked out.

"Uh, what are you doing here?" asked James, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't look so shocked, Taylor wanted to check on Lily, and Hannah was already going, so I just tagged along,"

"Right, how is she?"

"Er, maybe you should see for yourself," said Remus, and before James could reply, Remus walked past him and down the hall. James wondered why Remus wouldn't tell him. To satisfy his curiosity, James climbed through the portrait hole, and heard sobbing. He went and knocked on Lily's door, but Taylor and Hannah opened it, blocking the entrance.

"She doesn't want to see anyone right now, especially not you Potter," said Hannah snappishly.

"Could I know WHY?" said James, already feeling annoyed. Taylor turned around and whispered something to Lily.

"No, she doesn't want you to know, and I don't really blame her,"

"What is that supposed to mean?" asked James, feeling even more annoyed. Hannah looked at Taylor, and Taylor looked at Hannah. Then they slammed the door in his face.

(While the others are eating)

Lily bent low over her potions essay. Professor Spidell had given them two rolls of parchment to do on the importance of moonstone. She put down her quill, and flopped onto the back of her armchair. Suddenly, she heard tapping at the window. It was a huge black eagle owl with a large note in its talons. She rushed to the window and the owl hopped onto her arm. She pulled it into the common room and set it down on the arm of the chair. As she started to untie the letter, the portrait hole opened and Hannah, Taylor, and Remus walked in, chattering away.

"Hey guys," said Lily, still trying to untie the letter.

"Wow, that's a huge owl; who's the letter from?" asked Hannah, sitting down on the other arm of the chair.

"I don't know," said Lily, finally untying the letter. Her eyes scanned the page and Lily felt tears come to her eyes. She clapped her hand to her mouth, and when Hannah, Taylor, and Remus asked what was wrong, she just handed them the note in shaking hands. They all gathered around the letter and read it silently. It read:

_Dear Miss Evans,_

_We are terribly sorry to inform you that your parents were found with the dark mark over their home. Your sister, Petunia, was not in the house at the time, so it just fine. We know that your parents are muggles, so we will try with all of our resources to find out why they were murdered. Please send by return owl a message saying that you have received this letter._

_Truly sorry,_

_The Ministry of Magic_

Lily could do nothing but sit with her hand over her mouth. They were gone. The loving parents that raised her and Petunia for seventeen years were gone. Forever.

Hannah grabbed a small piece of parchment and wrote: _I can't believe this happened. I am at Hogwarts and safe, but FIND OUT why this has happened. _She tied the letter to the owl and sent it off, and with shaking hands, handed the letter back to Lily. Lily grabbed it and ran off into her room, sobbing. Hannah and Taylor quickly followed, and Remus agreed to leave and not tell anyone. But on his way out he met James.

"Lily, it's okay, the ministry will find out who and why this happened," said Hannah softly, sitting down on the bed next to Lily.

"Yeah, Lils, they'll find out everything," said Taylor, sitting on the other side of Lily. But Lily couldn't speak, she just cried. She couldn't stop, and she couldn't talk. Then there was a loud knock on the door.

"We'll get it," said Taylor and Hannah together. They opened the door, saw who it was, and blocked the entrance.

"She doesn't want to see anyone right now, especially not you Potter," said Hannah snappishly.

"Could I know WHY?" said James, acting like nothing was wrong. Taylor turned and asked: "You don't want Potter to know do you?"

Lily shook her head.

"No, she doesn't want you to know, and I don't really blame her,"

"What is that supposed to mean?" asked James. Hannah looked at Taylor, and Taylor looked at Hannah. Then they slammed the door in his face.

"Nosy prat," said Hannah.

Discouraged, James went back down to the Gryffindor common room.

"Fanged Frisbee," he said, and he climbed through the portrait hole. He spotted Remus on the couch and sat down next to him.

"So, why won't you tell me?"

"Uh, tell you what?" said Remus, putting his book down.

"What happened with Evans,"

"Because I promised that I wouldn't,"

"Come on Remus, I'm one of your best friends!"

"Fine, I'll tell you. Evans got a letter from the ministry, saying that her parents had been found dead inside their house with the dark mark over it; happy?"

"Oh, uh, yeah thanks," said James immediately regretting being sharp with Hannah and Taylor. He sat back and looked around the common room until he found Sirius. He was sitting at a table next to Peter, "studying" which pretty much meant planning a different way to embarrass the Slytherins. James noticed Olivia edging closer and closer to the table.

"Hey Black, can you come and, erm, help me with something?" she said nervously.

"Uh, yeah, I guess," he said, putting down his quill and parchment. Olivia led him all the way down the hall and into and empty classroom.

"Okay, what are we doing in here?" said Sirius, looking around the classroom.

"So, are you really happy with Hannah, like, on a scale of one to ten, how happy are you?"

"Okay, Olivia, it's just not going to…" He was going to say "happen" but Olivia interrupted him.

"Just, tell me,"

"Hmm, how about a big, fat ten?"

"Well, things change," said Olivia, stepping closer to Sirius, and she kissed him on the cheek.

"A lot," she said, and she pressed her lips to his. And Sirius didn't protest. (He'd snog anything that moved as James always said.) But then the door of the classroom creaked open, and everything changed.

"C'mon Lily, let's go find Olivia, she needs to know," said Hannah, grabbing Lily's arm. (A/N: Hannah doesn't know about Olivia's "little crush.") Lily didn't speak, but she got up willingly. Olivia was one of her best friends, so was Kelsey, they needed to know.

They started opening every door that they passed, trying to find their missing friends.

"Uh, Hannah, these are just empty classrooms," said Taylor, peeking into the room.

"You never know where they might be in a place this huge!" said Hannah, opening yet another door. And Taylor couldn't argue. It was a massive castle, with lots of doors, and lots of rooms. They reached the door at the end of the corridor, and Hannah creaked it open, and swore she was about to pass out. Even Lily came out of her miserable trance when she saw it.

Sirius looked right at her, as did Olivia. Hannah couldn't move. Lily's misery and confusion and hurt seemed to transfer to Hannah, and it coursed through her veins like an electric shock.

"Hey, what's going on…bloody hell I did not just see what I just saw!" Kelsey was standing behind everybody. She had been walking along the corridors searching for Lily and everybody, and saw them all crowded around the door, and the first thing she saw was Sirius pull away from Olivia.

Tears came to Hannah's eyes as Sirius started towards her. She had finally gotten him to like her, and her best friend stole him. She spun and ran, without a word.

"Hannah! Oy Hannah!" Sirius called, stepping out in to the hall.

"Yeah, she's really gonna come back," said Taylor sarcastically.

"Well, great job Black, great job," said Kelsey, and she and Taylor started down the hall after Hannah. Sirius turned and looked at Lily. Lily turned and walked down the hall, but in the opposite direction.

This day was the worst day of her life. She felt empty; she didn't even know where she was walking until she got into a dark, deserted hallway. Then she realized that she didn't know where she was.

"Lost, mudblood?" it was Lucius Malfoy. "I heard about your parents. It's just a shame, for it to have taken the death eaters that long to get to them. They should've been gone years ago."

"You foul, blood-sucking little cockroach!" and she started rushing at him, his pain the only thing on her mind. But before she could get to him, he already had closed his hand around her throat, and pinned her onto the wall, cutting off her windpipe.

"You'll really have to do better than that, mudblood," he said, edging closer to her.

"Get away from me!" she managed to choke out.

"That, you filthy mudblood, is not an option," he said, moving even closer. Lily was running out of air, and was being harassed by Lucius Malfoy. She silently prayed for help, and miraculously, it came. She heard someone cry: "_Stupefy!"_ and Malfoy released her throat, and as he fell to the ground, he cleared her vision path, and she saw her rescuer. It was Potter. Again. But this time, she wasn't angry, or embarrassed, she was… happy?

She slid down the wall, her hand clutching her throat. James walked over to her, and reached his hand down.

"Need a hand?" and she took it willingly, and he pulled her up so they were face-to-face. She took one look into in his eyes and knew. He knew about her parents. But he didn't say anything, but he just turned and walked away, leaving Lily staring hopelessly at his back. He knew that she wasn't going to say thank you, or anything, so he was just going to spare himself the pain.

"Hey! Potter!" she called after him. He turned and looked at her, and she started walking towards him, not knowing what she was doing. She stood on tiptoe and kissed him on the cheek, and said: "Thank you." And now it was her turn to turn and walk away.


	5. Regret

Okay, it wasn't my best, but this next chapter is probably the greatest in this entire story! (so far).

Magic Can't Help

Chapter 5

Regret

The moment Lily got back to the common room; she ran to the bathroom and washed her face, and her mouth. She sat down on the couch and yet again, screamed into the pillow. This time, James did not interrupt her. She did not just do what she thought she did. She actually kissed James Potter. Great, now everybody was going to think that she liked James Potter. She only kissed him because she was in complete denial and sadness and depression and anything else she could think of at the time.

As Lily was about to leave the common room, Hannah burst in with Taylor and Kelsey following as fast as they could.

"I DON'T CARE! HE CHEATED ON ME! SHE CHEATED WITH HIM!" fumed Hannah, throwing herself onto the couch.

"Look, I know he's total ASS, but seriously, it was her fault," said Taylor sitting down next to her.

"Yeah, just go, yell at her, yell at him, he'll beg for forgiveness, you'll give in, and everything will be back to normal," said Kelsey.

"Shut up," Hannah said, half crying, half laughing. Lily walked over and sat on the arm of the couch, and put her arm around Hannah.

"Here Hannah, here's something to cheer you up!" said Kelsey hopefully.

"What would cheer me up right now?" Hannah wept.

"Lily kissed Potter," said Taylor abruptly. Hannah screamed. Literally.

"FINALLY! OH MY GOD, IT'S TAKEN SOOOO LONG!"

"How did you know!" Lily asked, in shock again.

"Remus," Taylor said simply.

"Oh, I am going to KILL him!" said Lily in rage.

"Soooooooooooooo… what happened?" asked Kelsey, intrigued.

"It didn't mean anything! Malfoy tried to harass me…"

"HE WHAT?" they said in unison.

"and then Potter showed up and knocked him out and I was so out of it because of Malfoy and my parents and Hannah and Sirius, I… I kissed him on the cheek. JUST ON THE CHEEK!" she finished.

"So what! It still happened!" shrieked Hannah in excitement, and the room exploded in questions and exclamations that Lily could barely think. Suddenly the common room door flung open and the room went silent. It was James.

oO0Oo oO0Oo oO0Oo oO0Oo oO0Oo oO0Oo oO0Oo oO0Oo oO0Oo oO0Oo oO0Oo

James was in complete shock. She was definitely out of her mind. Not that he cared, but it was like she wasn't the same person. He walked back to the common room to talk to Sirius, even though he probably wasn't in the mood to talk about James' problems. He muttered the password to the fat lady and flung the door open, and Lily, Hannah, Taylor, and Kelsey went silent, and just stared at him. Lily stared at him and he stared back at her. At the same moment Lily buried her face in her hands and James ducked back out of the room. There was no way that he could even look at Lily again without it being awkward.

James started towards the head's common room when he heard someone call his name. He turned around and saw Lily standing outside the portrait hole, who looked strangely…happy?

"Thank you so much. I was about to die in there," she said laughingly. James just looked at her. She lifted her head and her eyes hardened.

"Well excuse me for trying to lighten the mood!"

"Sorry, it's just… kind of weird talking to you right now,"

"Yeah, me too, look, it's just I was so out of it, what with Malfoy and my parents…" she didn't finish. James saw tears coming from her eyes, and she slid down the wall and sat down on the floor, crying. James wasn't sure what to do, so he walked over and sat down next to her. He couldn't say he understood what she was going through, so he just sat next to her, watching her cry.

And then the strangest thing happened. Lily leaned over and cried into James' shoulder. Suddenly something weird came over James, and before he knew what he was doing, he put one arm around her shoulders and the other across her chest so that he was just holding her. And they just sat there, James holding a crying Lily.

oO0Oo oO0Oo oO0Oo oO0Oo oO0Oo oO0Oo oO0Oo oO0Oo oO0Oo oO0Oo oO0Oo

Lily had no idea what she was doing. But she realized something, and for some reason, it didn't bother her. She liked James Potter. And she felt good, relaxed even, just sitting letting him hold her. Suddenly Lily heard the portrait hole creak open, and she sat up straight, and James let go of her. Then it closed again, and she knew who was behind it. They were going to have fun with this.

"Well, that's gonna turn into a disaster," said James, looking at the portrait.

Lily laughed, and wiped her eyes. "You know what?" she said, looking up at James. "I really don't care." And she leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder again, wishing that she could feel this secure forever.

Wasn't it great? I have been wanting to put something like that in forever! Hope u liked it! Give me good reviews!


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